Corona vaccination
Can employers pay premiums in Germany?
Will there soon be a vaccination premium from German employers?
© Pla2na / Shutterstock.com
In the US, some companies are rushing forward and paying their employees bonuses for vaccination certificates. Is that also conceivable in Germany?
According to politicians of all stripes, there will be no nationwide compulsory vaccination in Germany. But so-called vaccination premiums are currently being hotly debated. In the USA, among others, the branches of the German discounter Aldi and Lidl already grant such bonuses if the employees can prove to their company that they have already been vaccinated. Lidl announced a few days ago that its employees would then be paid an extra $ 200.
In contrast, Aldi does not choose a flat rate in the USA, but instead wants to pay each employee two hourly wages. The discounter also wants to cover costs that could possibly arise for the vaccination. In Germany, no large company has yet to report similar projects. But are such vaccination premiums to be expected from local employees or do German laws even speak against it?
How does it look in Germany?
At least this would in principle also be possible in this country, confirms the lawyer Dr. Peter Hahn of the news agency spot on news. In companies with a works council, the payment of such a bonus would at least require co-determination. The right of co-determination exists only in the structure of the payment and not in the actual decision of the employer whether such an award should take place at all.
The labor law expert also points out the so-called principle of equal treatment. Thus, such a premium would have to be granted in such a way that no employee would be disadvantaged for no reason. Means: There cannot be a distinction between full-time and part-time employees, working students or mini-jobbers, since the employer benefits equally from the vaccination of employees regardless of status and degree of employment.
How is data protection going?
The expert still sees potential problems in data protection. An obligation to present the complete vaccination certificate is probably not justified due to the principle of data economy, but that of another, simple vaccination certificate is. The vaccination certificate should also not be filed or saved in the personnel file.